PENNSYLVANIA 
STATION 



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SEVENTH AND EIGHTH AVENUES 

THIRTY FIRST TO THIRTY THIRD STS. 

ONE BLOCK ^ft^BRQADWAY 




PENNSYLYWR RR 



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PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 






The Bergen Hill Portal S^§== 1=- 



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opening of the Pennsyl- 
vania Station in New 
York City crowns the heroic 
work which has resulted in the 
founding of a Pennsylvania 
Railroad Station in the heart of 
the business and social activities 
of the great city. 
In order to reach this goal the highest type of 
genius was enlisted. The thought of its great founder 
was developed by the brightest brains in the engineer- 
ing and architectural world, and their plans were 
executed by the most skilled constructors, utilizing 
processes and materials which have had their birth 
as constructive forces within the span of a generation. 
The completion of the work signalizes the suc- 
cess of the greatest corporate undertaking of any 



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period. In the amount of money involved and the 
scope of the work with all its correlated parts, the 
achievement is second only to the building of the 
Panama Canal, an enterprise backed by the wealth 
of the nation and prosecuted under national control. 

The magnitude of the accomplished tact of 
providing a station in the center of Manhattan 
Island for the patrons of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
may be best realized by a short sketch of what may 
be termed the preliminary steps necessary to secure 
access to and the occupation of a convenient site for 
the station. 

Since the extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad ]0 
^Ap to the western bank of the Hudson some forty years 

fago, the rail terminus of the line has been Jersey \J 
City, directly opposite Cortlandt Street, New York, i 
In order to reach the new station it was necessary to 
deflect the line from Harrison, N. J., to the north- 
east to a point in the Bergen Hills, just opposite the 
foot of West Thirty-second Street, New York. 

A steel and concrete transfer station, to be known 
as " Manhattan Transfer,'' has been constructed near 
Harrison, which is just across the Passaic River from 
Newark, whence the new line starts. The station 
contains two platforms eleven hundred by twenty- 
eight feet. Here the steam locomotives are exchanged 
for the monster electric locomotives which draw the 
train through the tubes. The new line is double 




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tracked, elevated and built in the standard style of 
the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. From 
Harrison to the Bergen Hill portal it is over five 
miles long, and crosses two streams, three railroads 
and numerous highways above grade. 

Through the solid rock of Bergen Hill, and 
under the towns located on its surface, two single 
track tunnels have been bored, and from its eastern 
border two single track concrete-lined tube tunnels 
extend under the river to the New York side and 
thence under Thirty-second Street to the passenger 
station at Seventh Avenue, Eighth Avenue, Thirty- 
first and Thirty-third Streets. The railroad continues 
across the island east of the station under Thirty- __ 
third Street and under Thirty-second Street, first in \7 
two tunnels of three tracks each, then in two single- 
track twin tunnels, and finally in tour single-track 
tube tunnels running under the East River to Long 
Island City, thence still by tunnel to the portals at 
the Sunnyside Yard, the final terminal of all trains 
passing through the New York station. 

The construction of these tunnels exemplifies the 
skill and daring of modern engineering. The tubes 
under the river were bored by the shield method. 
An iron tube over twenty-three feet in diameter was 
driven through the mud and sand, seventy feet below 
the surface of the river, by hydraulic jacks, com- 
pressed air being used to keep out the water, and as 




STATION ^TV-NEW YORK CITY 





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the shield progressed the rings of the tubes were 
fitted in place. 

By this process the metal tube was gradually 
built from one bank of the river through to the 
other, and as the shield bit its way through the 
rock, gravel or sand, it left in its wake the outer 
rim of the iron tunnel ready for the interior work. 

Then came the concrete workers to line the sides 
of the tube with a solid mass of concrete two feet 
thick, and to lay on its bottom a still solider founda- 
tion for its tracks, and to build along its sides the 
conduits for wires, the tops of which serve as path- 
ways through the tunnel from end to end. g¥| 

Every known scientific appliance was utilized in ^ 
the construction work, both in implements and for 
the safeguarding of the lives and health of the work- 
men, and although the work extended through 
several years and thousands of men were engaged in 
it from time to time, the percentage of the loss of 
life, or even injury, was small. 

The boring was started from the sides and 
progressed until the shields met near the center of 
the river, and in every case when the western shield 
met its eastern counterpart the calculations were so 
accurate and exact that there was a discrepancy of 
only a fraction of an inch in the theoretical alignment 
and grade of the tunnels. 




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STATION ^^NEW YORK CITY 



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T H I FCT Y FIFCST ST. Sir)E,-LOOK.ING WE,ST 

The excavations of the land tunnels under the 
streets in the city of New York were executed with 
equal skill. There was no interruption to traffic or 
business. Here and there a shaft was sunk to facili- 
tate the progress of the work, but there was little 



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ocular evidence to the millions of people who passed 
over the surface every day that one of the greatest 
engineering projects in the history of the world was 
being quietly but surely worked out beneath the 
surface of a busy city. 

The motive power to be used in the tunnels is 
exclusively electric, and the entire equipment of the 
trains is built of steel. By the use of electricity, 
smoke is entirely eliminated, and a special ventilating 
plant keeps the tunnels supplied at all times with 
an abundance of fresh air, although the motion of 
A the passing train is ordinarily sufficient to give A 
complete ventilation. The extraordinary thickness "^" 
I of the walls of the tubes excludes any dampness, ^^| 
and even the under-river sections of the tubes 
are dry. 

The tunnels under the rivers and the city of 
New York will be used for the transportation of 
passengers and, if necessary, for high-class freight 
during those hours when passenger trains will not 
be running. 

The Pennsylvania Station is located in the heart 
of the central district of the city. It occupies two 
complete blocks from Seventh Avenue to Eighth 
Avenue and from Thirty-first to Thirty-third Street. 
The actual area covered by the building is nearly 
eight acres; the area of the station and subterranean 
yards is twenty-eight acres. Five hundred houses, 



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including several churches, were removed to clear 
the ground for the structure. This acreage of a 
small farm, in the heart of America's largest city, is 
covered above the street level, and for a considerable 
depth below, with the largest structure in the world 
devoted solely to the use and convenience of railroad 
passengers. 

The frontage on each of the two avenues is 430 
feet, and on each of the two streets, 784 feet. The 
average height of the building above the street level 
is 69 feet, the maximum height, i ^j; feet. 

The tracks are located at a depth below the street 
level sufficient for the passage of trains under the 



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A. R.C AD E— S E, V B N T H AVENUE ENTRANCE 

buildings of the city, and yet the descent to them 
and the ascent to the streets, through three levels, 
is scarcely noticeable. 

The main entrance is on the first or street level 
at Seventh Avenue and Thirty- second Street. 



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Thirty-second Street runs directly to the front door 
of the station, and there stops, being absorbed in 
the station area from Seventh Avenue to Tenth 
Avenue. Above the Doric columns of the Seventh 
Avenue facade is an entablature surmounted by a 
clock seven teet in diameter, which is placed on the 
axial line of Thirty-second Street, 6i feet above the 
sidewalk. The clock is flanked bv three symbolic 
eagles on either side. 

This entrance, which is for foot passengers only, 
is one block from Sixth Avenue 
and Broadway and two blocks 
from Fifth Avenue in a direct 
line. It leads to the main 
waiting room through an 
arcade 225 feet long by 45 feet 
wide, bordered on both sides 
by shops in which merchandise 
especially appealing to the 
traveler will be offered for 
sale. At its further end the 
arcade expands into the 
Loggia, a colonnaded hall, 
affording entrance to the din- 
ing room and cafe on one side, 
and the luncheon room and 
buffet on the other. A broad, 
stone stairway leads directly 







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R.ESTA.UR.AMT A>4D DINING R^OOM 

into the general waiting room. In a niche in the 
Loggia is a bronze statue of Alexander Johnston 
Cassatt, former President of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, under whose direction the plans for the 
comprehensive enlargement of the terminal facilities 
in and around New York were perfected, and the 
work of construction supervised until his death in 
December, 1906. 

The restaurant and luncheon room occupy hand- 
some and commodious rooms on opposite sides of 
the Loggia, They are appointed and fitted in the 
best manner and with the most modern appliances. 
Regular restaurant service is maintained in one and 



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a luncheon service in the other. The kitchens on the 
floor above are thoroughly equipped in every detail. 

At the corner of Seventh Avenue and Thirty- 
first Street is a colonnaded entrance for vehicles, 
which descends by an incline to the level of the gen- 
eral waiting room, where the ticket offices and bag- 
gage rooms are located. At the corner of Seventh 
Avenue and Thirty-third Street is a similar gateway 
for vehicles leaving the station. 

In the matter of entrances and exits, the require- 
ments for any number of people are fully met. There 
are both en- 
trances and 
exits, each 
distinct, 
directly into 
the general 
waiting 
room and the 
concourse 
from each of 
the bounding 
avenues and 
streets,sothat 
the incoming 
passengers 
may enter 
from the "^^ ^ -^ 








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most convenient 
quarter, and the 
out-going hosts, 
I their steps direct- 
•i ed by signboards, 
may emerge on 
any one of the 
highways without 
interference, 
crowding or con- 
fusion. This 
— advantage applies 
also to Thirty- 
fourth Street, 
which is con- 
nected with the 
Thirty-third 
Street entrance and exit by a wide private street. 
An escalator will convey passengers from the con- 
course level under Thirty-third Street to a con- 
venient connection with Thirty-fourth Street, while 
the entrance to the station from Thirty-fourth Street 
will be made by a gradual incline under cover. 

The interior of the station is arranged with 
special regard to the convenience and comfort of 
those using it. It is so spacious and so practically 
equipped in all its appointments that it can rarely 
be crowded to the point of discomfort. 



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STATION ^^NEW YORK CITY 



On the first level below the street is the station 
proper, reached from all sides by short stone stair- 
ways. Here is the general waiting room, the largest 
in the world, 277 feet by 103 feet, and 150 feet 
from floor to roof. Within its walls are located the 
ticket offices, parcel rooms, telegraph and telephone 
offices, and baggage checking windows, all so 
arranged that the passenger may proceed from one 
to the other seriatim with a minimum amount of 
exertion and without retracing his steps. Opening 
into the general waiting room on the west are two 
subsidiary waiting rooms provided with seats. These J\ 
rooms, each <;8 bv 100 feet, are for men and women, [ 





PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 




Mai» waiting r-oom 



respectively, and con- 
nect with retiring 
rooms with lavatories 
attached. 

Hardby is an em- 
ergency hospital 
equipped with the 
necessary attendants 
and appliances tor first 
aid to the ailing. 

On the same level 
with the general wait- 
ing room the main 
baggage room with 450 

feet of frontage, for the use of the transfer wagons, 
is located, covering the full area occupied by the 
arcade and restaurants on the plane above. The 
baggage is delivered and taken away through a 
special subway. From the baggage room trunks are 
delivered to the tracks below by motor trucks and 
elevators. The court for the public motor cabs and 
private vehicles is also located on this level. 

Parallel to and connecting with the main waiting 
room by a wide thoroughfare is the concourse, a 
covered assembling place over 200 feet wide, ex- 
tending the entire width of the station and under 
the adjoining streets. An idea of the width of the 
concourse is gained by comparing it with the lobby 




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of the Jersey City train shed, which is narrower by 
twenty-five feet. This is the vestibule of the tracks, 
as stairways descend from it to each ot the train 
platforms on the track level. The concourse and 
adjacent areas are open to the tracks, forming a 
courtyard 340 feet wide by 210 feet broad, covered 
by a lofty roof of iron and glass. In addition to 
the entrances of the concourse from the waiting 
room there are also direct approaches from the 
streets. 

The third level just beneath the concourse is the 
A train platform. There are twenty-one standing A 
"^^^ tracks and eleven platforms, providing 21,500 feet """ 
of platform adjacent to passenger trains. The con- 

f Crete platforms are level with the floor of the cars, so 
that one passes directly from platform to car without 
the use of steps. The train platforms are reached from 
the concourse by gently inclined stairways starting 
from gates on 
the concourse 
floor, each gate 
plainly marked 
by signs desig- 
nating name ot 
the train, its 
destination and 
fixed time of 
departure. 




TICKET OFFICES 




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The descent ends on the particular platform 
from which the designated train starts, and there the 
passenger boards it. 

For the special benefit ot incoming passengers 
there is an auxiliary concourse located between the 
track platform and the main concourse for exit 
purposes only- It is connected with the track 
platforms by short stairways and elevators, and is 
designed to expedite the egress of those who desire 
to pass directly out of the building. Inclines and 
easy ascents lead to the street level. 

The section of the station at Seventh Avenue /\ 
and Thirtv-third Street is set apart for the service of I 




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WAITING 1=1^ OOTVI FOR„ WOTVIElSr 



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STATION ^TV-NEW YORK CITY 





E T A I L. O ■" 



R- ENTB-A.NCE 



CAIN -WAITING I^^O O M 



the Long Island Railroad, 
which is largely a local 
service, and is fully pro- 
vided with entrances and 
exits best adapted to the 
use and convenience of the 
local passengers who may 
enter and leave the station 
without coming in contact 
with the through passen- 
gers. 

The magnitude of the 
station, the classic lines of its architecture and its 
X'p pleasing color, mark it as the largest and most 
notable structure in America's greatest city. 

To one accustomed to thinking of New York as 
an aggregation of skyscrapers, and who has trailed 
through the wind-swept canyons whose man-made 
walls rise up hundreds of feet toward the sky, the 
building may look squat and out of harmony with 
the towering structures that rise in graceful lines 
about it. But when he reflects that even these 
habitable shafts rest on foundations four and five 
stories below the street level, in which machinery 
hums and many of the usual avocations of life are 
followed, including the preparation and service of 
food, and that the real intent of the structure is 
worked out under the surface, he will understand 



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the wisdom of the builders. It is exclusively a rail- 
road station in the heart of a great, bustling, busy- 
mart of unceasing human activity, where the lines 
of transportation that feed it are under the feet of 
the moving masses and out of the sight of all but 
those who use them. The magnificent superstruc- 
ture, imposing in breadth and length, classic in its 
outlines and pleasing in its tinted grayness, is but a 
pavilion of enormous proportions superimposed 
above the greatest traffic exchange in the world. 
There are no offices under the roof except a few 
in the upper 
stories used 
solely for the 
administration 
of the great 
business of 
which the 
station is the 
center. The 
pulsing life of 
the structure is 
torty feet below 
the streets. 
From the 
street level to 
the crown of 
the dome the 




ONE OF THE TR.AIN GATES 



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space is utilized to supply light and air and ventila- 
tion to the mobile throng of people who pass in and 
out of it hourly. 

The interior of the station is even more impos- 
ing than the exterior. The public rooms are open 
to the roof. The lofty walls of mellow travertine 
are unbroken by galleries or protrusions of any kind, 
but their splendid beauty is magnified at intervals 
by stately Ionic and Corinthian columns. The only 
touch of color is given by a series of large maps 

M imposed within panels high on the walls. Daylight 
pours in through huge semi-circular windows l\ 
~ high above the floors and through skylights JQl 

set in the roof. At night it is illuminated by 
^T bracket lights, electroliers and a number of hand- \7 
I some standards surmounted by groups of incandes- f 
cent bulbs. 

The heating and ventilation is as perfect as 
modern science can make it. As all the trains are 
operated exclusively by electricity there can be no 
smoke nor gases such as are unpreventable in stations 
where steam is the motive power. 

The arrangement of the trackage under the 
surface of the streets is as interesting as any part of 
this great institution. 

When the two tracks emerge from the tubes 
under the Hudson and reach the entrance to the 
station yards at Tenth Avenue they begin to 




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ONE OF THE EXITS AND E N T R. A N C E S 

multiply, and at Ninth Avenue, and extending into 
the station, the number has grown from two to 
twenty-one. There is also a reduction in the num- 
ber of tracks leading out of the station yard to Long 
Island to a total of four for the main line, passing 
under the city, and thence under the East River to 
the Sunnyside Yard on Long Island. The track 
surface of the station may be compared to two un- 
folded fans joined together at the open ends, the 
handle of one extending under the Hudson and 
that of the other under the East River. Within 
the station area, covering twenty-eight acres of ground 
space, there are sixteen miles of tracks. Through 



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STATION ^^NEW YORK CITY 




trains from the western side of the Hudson, after 
discharging passengers, will proceed to the Sunnyside 
Yard on Long Island, where the trains are shifted, 
stored and cleaned, thus leaving the station tracks 
free of any idle equipment. Likewise the westbound 
through trains made up at the Long Island City 
yard will pass through the station, stopping only to 
take up their quota of passengers. 

The location of the station is notable. It fronts 
directly on Seventh Avenue, Thirty-first Street, 
Thirty-third Street, Eighth Avenue, opposite the 
new United States Post Office, and on Thirty-fourth 
fQl Street by special plaza. It has entrances and exits 
1^^ on all four fronts. The main entrance is at Seventh 
\1 Avenue and Thirty-second Street, which leads 
directly to Sixth Avenue, Broadwav, Fifth Avenue, 
Madison Avenue, Park Avenue and Lexington 
Avenue. This entrance is one block from Broad- 
way, two blocks from Fifth Avenue, and by way of 
Thirty-third Street, one block from Herald Square, 
the busiest spot in the city's center. 

Within a radius of a mile are located the majority 
of New York's big hotels, clubs, restaurants, places 
of amusement, and most of the big retail stores. 
The Seventh Avenue surface cars and the Eighth 
Avenue surface cars pass the doors of the sta- 
tion, the Thirty-fourth Street surface cars pass the 
Thirty-fourth Street entrance, and a station of both 



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PBNNSYTVANIA FAILROAD 




B F*w I E> G E 



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D FS-.IVE W^>VY 




the Sixth Avenue Elevated and the Hudson & 
Manhattan Railroad is a short block from the main 
entrance. All sections of the city are within easy 
reach by regular lines of travel. 

Through trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad will 
arrive at and depart from the Pennsylvania Station 
on time-tables which may be procured in the usual 
manner on and after the date of opening. 

Travel to the "downtown" section of the city 
will also be provided for by trains from the Man- 
hattan Transfer Station near Harrison, by way of 
the Hudson & Manhattan tubes to the Hudson 
Terminal at Cortlandt and Church streets, which is 




STATION yiA-NEW YORK CITY 



the heart of the financial district as well as cf the 
section where all the big industrial and manufactur- 
ing corporations have their business offices. The 
ferries between Jersey City and Cortlandt and Des- 
brosses streets will be continued in operation. The 



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ENTRANCE FOR.VEHICLES LOOKING OUT 




PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 



location of the station appeals directly to the hotel 
guest, the shopper, the amusement seeker, the 
business man, the professional man, and every 
class of travelers to and from New York over the 
Pennsylvania Railroad. 

The station, its purpose and its meaning, has 
been aptly epitomized by a celebrated writer as 
follows : 

" The fa9ade — indeed, the whole building — is a 
mighty gateway — a perpetual port of entry to a 
great modern city. 

" ' Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift f^ 
up, ye everlasting doors ' — is the idea toward which | 
they shaped the rocks." \ 



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0^aE OF THE ELECTR^IC UOCOIMOTIVES 




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— 34TH ST. 
^ ENTRANCE 



SEVENTH 













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SECOND 










STREET 

ONE BLOCK 









PLAN OF THE STR^^EET FLOOF«o 




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One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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mm^^^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




